Wallabies mentor Ewen McKenzie has needled fired-up Wales with painful memories of their World Cup semi-final heartbreak by warning them to keep their red mist in check at Millennium Stadium.
Desperate to snap an eight-match losing streak against Australia, the Six Nations champions have vowed to produce the emotion and aggression Ireland showed in their blazing 19-0 start against the All Blacks last week.
Welsh hooker Richard Hibbard has also declared they are planning to batter the Wallabies by emulating the British and Irish Lions' ferocity from the series-deciding 41-16 thumping in Sydney in July.
It set the scene for a blockbuster year-ending Test encounter with plenty of feeling which McKenzie only increased on Thursday.
Normally a conservative pre-match talker, the wily coach was quick to remind the home side of the consequences if they went "silly" or over-the-top in the aggression stakes.
He pointed to Wales skipper Sam Warburton's 18th-minute send-off in their 9-8 World Cup semi-final loss to France two years ago for a tip tackle on winger Vincent Clerc.
"I think the emotional element is really important," said McKenzie.
"You have to be up for the game but I think you have to be in control of your emotions.
"I've seen a lot of silly things happen at the start of games. I think Wales can look back at the World Cup with that tackle of Warburton early on.
"There's been so many instances of where people have overstepped the mark and made a negative situation out of it."
McKenzie rarely aims shots across opposition bows but strategically upped the ante as he aimed for a break-even 6-6 record at the end of his first season as Test coach with victory in Cardiff.
The Wallabies have reaped extra motivation from Hibbard's tough talk plus Lions and Wales coach Warren Gatland's claim that previous November defeats to Australia were treated more like "friendlies".
Halfback Will Genia promised Australia, who have been drawn in the 2015 World Cup pool of death with Wales, would also be at fever pitch for a match they're treating like a "grand final".
"It's a fixture that we always look forward to and it has been spiced up by what has been said," he said.
Genia was also quick to get into the pre-match scrap by highlighting Wales' mental fragility following an admission by Warburton they suffered from a psychological block against the Wallabies, who have won the past three meetings by two points or less.
"The first step to dealing with a problem is admitting you have one," he said.
Last year's corresponding 14-12 defeat in Cardiff was most gutting as Kurtley Beale snatched the match with a last-gasp try.
Only two Wallabies starters remain from that match - ironically Adam Ashley-Cooper and Nick Cummins, who have returned from one-Test bans for their late night out in Dublin.
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